EP0059539B1 - Druckfühler - Google Patents

Druckfühler Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0059539B1
EP0059539B1 EP82300600A EP82300600A EP0059539B1 EP 0059539 B1 EP0059539 B1 EP 0059539B1 EP 82300600 A EP82300600 A EP 82300600A EP 82300600 A EP82300600 A EP 82300600A EP 0059539 B1 EP0059539 B1 EP 0059539B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
strain
resistor
diaphragm
ridge
resistors
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
EP82300600A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0059539B2 (de
EP0059539A1 (de
Inventor
Ronald Eugene Brown
Lamonte Rea Edison
William David Higdon
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Motors Liquidation Co
Original Assignee
Motors Liquidation Co
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Motors Liquidation Co filed Critical Motors Liquidation Co
Publication of EP0059539A1 publication Critical patent/EP0059539A1/de
Publication of EP0059539B1 publication Critical patent/EP0059539B1/de
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0059539B2 publication Critical patent/EP0059539B2/de
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01L—MEASURING FORCE, STRESS, TORQUE, WORK, MECHANICAL POWER, MECHANICAL EFFICIENCY, OR FLUID PRESSURE
    • G01L9/00—Measuring steady of quasi-steady pressure of fluid or fluent solid material by electric or magnetic pressure-sensitive elements; Transmitting or indicating the displacement of mechanical pressure-sensitive elements, used to measure the steady or quasi-steady pressure of a fluid or fluent solid material, by electric or magnetic means
    • G01L9/0041—Transmitting or indicating the displacement of flexible diaphragms
    • G01L9/0051—Transmitting or indicating the displacement of flexible diaphragms using variations in ohmic resistance
    • G01L9/0052—Transmitting or indicating the displacement of flexible diaphragms using variations in ohmic resistance of piezoresistive elements
    • G01L9/0054—Transmitting or indicating the displacement of flexible diaphragms using variations in ohmic resistance of piezoresistive elements integral with a semiconducting diaphragm

Definitions

  • This invention relates to semiconductor pressure sensing devices and more particularly to such devices having a pressure responsive diaphragm with piezo-resistive resistors thereon for sensing pressure induced strain in the diaphragm.
  • a resistor thus placed takes maximum advantage of the strain pattern on the diaphragm to obtain maximum signal change for a given pressure change.
  • the peak of the strain pattern is so sharp, however, that alignment of the resistor placement with respect to the cavity edge is critical. That is, if the resistor is placed a relatively short distance from the strain peak, it can lie in a relatively low strain region.
  • small variances from one pressure sensor to another result in unacceptably large variances in resistor response to pressure.
  • a low yield of commercially-acceptable pressure sensors is the consequence of poor uniformity of response. It is desired, however, to achieve a high yield of pressure sensors so that they can be manufactured economically in high volumes.
  • an object of this invention to provide a semiconductor pressure sensing device having a resistor configuration which takes advantage of the high strain ridge adjacent the diaphragm edge and yet does not have a critical placement.
  • This invention is carried out by providing a pressure sensing device comprising a semiconductor chip as described in claim 7.
  • This device involves a cavity defining a diaphragm such that a high strain ridge occurs along an edge of the diaphragm, with a plurality of strain sensing resistors on the diaphragm, at least one of the resistors being elongated and slanted across the high stress ridge at a small angle to the ridge so that if there are small variations in resistor placement relative to the ridge, the resistor still will cross the ridge and only minor variations in resistor response to diaphragm strain will result.
  • Figures 1 and 2 illustrate a semiconductor pressure sensing device according to the prior art which comprises a silicon chip 10 having a cavity 12 etched therein on one side to form a diaphragm 14 of about 1 mil (0.0254 mm) thickness so that it readily responds to changes in differential pressure applied across the diaphragm.
  • the edge 16 of the diaphragm is generally rectangular in shape and encompasses an area of typically 30 to 40 mils (0.762-1.016 mm) on each side.
  • a first pair of resistors 18 extend in a direction generally towards the center of the diaphragm to measure the diaphragm strain in the radial direction and a second pair of resistors 20 extend parallel to the diaphragm edge to measure the strain in the so- called tangential direction.
  • the resistors comprise thin elongated strips about 1 mil (0.0254 mm) wide and sufficient length, say 10 to 15 mils (0.254-0.381 mm), to provide a desired resistance and are connected to contact areas 22 at either end which have at least a portion lying beyond the diaphragm edge 16.
  • the resistors 18 are each formed in two parallel segments connected by contact areas 24 on the diaphragm.
  • the resistors and contact areas together comprise island-like regions of one conductivity type in a silicon surface of the opposite conductivity type formed by ion implantation or diffusion.
  • Figure 3 diagramatically illustrates the strain measured at various points along the sensor chip beginning at a point outside the diaphragm about 9 mils (0.2286 mm) from the edge and then proceeding toward the diaphragm center. That is, the diaphragm edge 16 occurs at 9 mils (0.2286 mm) on the diaphragm.
  • a sharp strain peak occurs just inside the diaphragm edge about 1 mil (0.0254 mm) from the edge.
  • the peak 26 actually forms a ridge since it extends along the diaphragm edge and parallel.thereto as shown by a broken line 26 in Figure 1.
  • the resistor 20 extends along the high strain ridge 26 in order to obtain a maximum signal response for any change in pressure.
  • the accuracy of placement of the resistor 20 right on the ridge 26 depends not only on the accuracy of registration of various masks used in resistor formation and in the cavity etching step but also in the control of the etching.
  • the actual size of the cavity 12 and thus the position of the edges 16 can vary somewhat according to how well the etching is controlled. Thus, the distance of the resistor 20 from the edge 16 may vary.
  • the resistor placement misses the strain ridge 26 by a small amount, say 1 mil (0.025 mm) then the resistor sensitivity to diaphragm pressure will be dramatically reduced and may very well be unacceptable, particularly where it is desired to fabricate a large number of sensors having somewhat uniform response characteristics.
  • the criticality of resistor placement is very much lessened by slanting the resistor 30 at a small angle with respect to the diaphragm edge 16 and therefore to the strain ridge 26. This allows for some variation in resistor placement with respect to the edge 16 by keeping at least a portion of the resistor 30 in the high strain zone. Since some of the resistor will be in relatively low strain regions of the curve of Figure 3, the overall signal change for a given pressure change will be less than the ideal case of Figure 1. However, the uniformity of signal change from one sensor to another will be much greater so that the overall yield of the sensor fabrication process will be greater.
  • the angle between the resistor 30 and the strain ridge 26 should be as small as is practical in order to maximize the signal change and the particular angle depends upon the accuracy with which the etching and other geometry controlling steps can be controlled.
  • the geometrical relationships are exemplified in Figure 5 where the nominal cavity edge 16 determines the position of the nominal strain ridge 26 relative to the fixed resistor 30 which is centered on the nominal ridge 26 and is positioned at an angle 0 thereto. Due to manufacturing tolerances, the actual cavity edge and strain ridge position will vary from the nominal position by a distance of plus or minus "a".
  • the lines 26' and 26" spaced a distance "a" on either side of the nominal strain ridge 26 indicate the acceptable limits to ridge position from sensor to sensor to define a tolerance band.
  • the ends "b” and “c” of a line defining the longitudinal resistor axis of the slanted resistor 30 are positioned just outside the strain ridge limits 26' and 26" so that wherever the strain ridge occurs within those limits, the resistor 30 will traverse the tolerance band including the strain ridge 26.
  • the actual size of the angle 0 depends upon the length of the resistor 30 and the production tolerance "a" which determines the position of the resistor 30 relative to the strain ridge 26. Thus, for a given tolerance "a”, the angle 0 will be smaller for longer resistors 30 and it will be larger for shorter resistors 30. By keeping the tolerance "a” as small as possible, the angle 0 is also kept small to optimize the resistor response to strain.
  • the angle 0 is about 17° or 12° respectively.
  • the angle 0 may, as a practical matter fall within the range of 10° to 20°. Even a small angle 0 may effect a significant increase in yield, say a 10% improvement.
  • the slanted resistor since it always covers the strain ridge 26 as well as lower strain values, provides a relatively uniform response to strain within acceptable manufacturing tolerances even though the signal size is less than that of the resistor 20 of the Figure 1 configuration.
  • a semiconductor pressure sensing device which has a greater ease of manufacturing to produce sensors sufficiently uniform in response to pressure during manufacture thereof, so as to provide a high yield of commercially-acceptable sensors.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Measuring Fluid Pressure (AREA)
  • Pressure Sensors (AREA)

Claims (2)

1. Druckfühler mit einem Halbleiterchip (10) mit einer Vertiefung (12), welche eine Membran (14) bestimmt, die in Abhängigkeit von Druckbelastung einer Verbiegung unterworfen ist, wobei die Membran bei Verbiegung einer Membran-Berandung (16) benachbart und parallel zu dieser einen länglichen Hochdehnungsbereich (26) aufweist, und mit einer Vielzahl von Piezo-Widerständen (18, 30) in dem Chip (10) zum Erfassen der Dehnung in der Membrane (14), wobei mindestens einer der Widerstände (30) länglich ausgebildet und zum Messen der Dehnung in dem zur Membranberandung parallelen Dehnungsbereich angeordnet ist, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der eine Widerstand (30) schräg über den Hochdehnungsbereich (26) gelegt ist, wobei seine Widerstands-Längsachse (bc) mit einem Winkel angeordnet ist, der genügend groß ist, um die Ausbeute während der Herstellung verglichen mit parallel zum Dehnungsbereich angeordneten Widerständen beträchtlich zu erhöhen, und genügend klein ist, um ein gutes Widerstands-Ansprechverhalten auf Membrandehnung zu erzielen, so daß kleine Veränderungen der Anordnung des Widerstandes relativ zum Dehnungsbereich nur geringfügige Veränderungen des Widerstands-Ansprechverhaltens auf Membrandehnung ergeben.
2. Druckfühler nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Widerstands-Längsachse (bc) des einen Widerstandes (30) mit einem Winkel im annähernden Bereich von 10° bis 20° bezüglich des Bereiches (26) hoher Verformung angeordnet ist.
EP82300600A 1981-02-23 1982-02-08 Druckfühler Expired EP0059539B2 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US237474 1981-02-23
US06/237,474 US4400681A (en) 1981-02-23 1981-02-23 Semiconductor pressure sensor with slanted resistors

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0059539A1 EP0059539A1 (de) 1982-09-08
EP0059539B1 true EP0059539B1 (de) 1984-06-13
EP0059539B2 EP0059539B2 (de) 1989-03-08

Family

ID=22893872

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP82300600A Expired EP0059539B2 (de) 1981-02-23 1982-02-08 Druckfühler

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US4400681A (de)
EP (1) EP0059539B2 (de)
JP (1) JPS57159068A (de)
DE (1) DE3260225D1 (de)

Families Citing this family (20)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4696188A (en) * 1981-10-09 1987-09-29 Honeywell Inc. Semiconductor device microstructure
JPS5952727A (ja) * 1982-09-20 1984-03-27 Hitachi Ltd 半導体圧力センサ
JPS6174374A (ja) * 1984-09-19 1986-04-16 Toyota Central Res & Dev Lab Inc 半導体圧力変換器
US4721938A (en) * 1986-12-22 1988-01-26 Delco Electronics Corporation Process for forming a silicon pressure transducer
JPH0197827A (ja) * 1987-07-08 1989-04-17 Ricoh Co Ltd 半導体拡散型力覚センサ
JPH01315172A (ja) * 1988-06-15 1989-12-20 Komatsu Ltd 応力変換素子およびその製造方法
US6142021A (en) * 1998-08-21 2000-11-07 Motorola, Inc. Selectable pressure sensor
US6796396B2 (en) * 1999-06-04 2004-09-28 Deka Products Limited Partnership Personal transporter
US6341528B1 (en) 1999-11-12 2002-01-29 Measurement Specialties, Incorporated Strain sensing structure with improved reliability
WO2002061383A1 (en) * 2001-01-31 2002-08-08 Silicon Valley Sensors, Inc. Triangular chip strain sensing structure and corner,edge on a diaphragm
JP2002286567A (ja) * 2001-03-23 2002-10-03 Denso Corp ダイアフラムセンサ
US20090055033A1 (en) * 2007-08-23 2009-02-26 Segway Inc. Apparatus and methods for fault detection at vehicle startup
US9146164B2 (en) * 2013-03-07 2015-09-29 Sensata Technologies, Inc. Pressure transducer substrate with self alignment feature
CN108604149B (zh) * 2016-02-06 2021-06-18 深圳纽迪瑞科技开发有限公司 压力传感器、电子设备及该压力传感器的制作方法
CN107290099B (zh) 2016-04-11 2021-06-08 森萨塔科技公司 压力传感器、用于压力传感器的插塞件和制造插塞件的方法
EP3236226B1 (de) 2016-04-20 2019-07-24 Sensata Technologies, Inc. Verfahren zur herstellung eines drucksensors
US10545064B2 (en) 2017-05-04 2020-01-28 Sensata Technologies, Inc. Integrated pressure and temperature sensor
US10323998B2 (en) 2017-06-30 2019-06-18 Sensata Technologies, Inc. Fluid pressure sensor
US10724907B2 (en) 2017-07-12 2020-07-28 Sensata Technologies, Inc. Pressure sensor element with glass barrier material configured for increased capacitive response
US10557770B2 (en) 2017-09-14 2020-02-11 Sensata Technologies, Inc. Pressure sensor with improved strain gauge

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3213681A (en) * 1963-05-21 1965-10-26 Fairchild Camera Instr Co Shear gauge pressure-measuring device
DE1816661B2 (de) * 1967-12-27 1971-11-04 Anordnung zum messen von drucken
JPS5624387B2 (de) * 1973-10-09 1981-06-05
US4065970A (en) * 1976-05-17 1978-01-03 Becton, Dickinson Electronics Company Diffused semiconductor pressure gauge
US4133100A (en) * 1976-12-27 1979-01-09 Myhre Kjell E Method of making diaphragm of optimized stress and strain distribution

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPS57159068A (en) 1982-10-01
EP0059539B2 (de) 1989-03-08
JPS6155265B2 (de) 1986-11-27
DE3260225D1 (en) 1984-07-19
US4400681A (en) 1983-08-23
EP0059539A1 (de) 1982-09-08

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